Life After
by Columbia fangirl
Summary: A red haired groupie died one late November evening years ago in front of their eyes, but when a strange woman with a squeaky soprano voice comes into the life of a certain young (and troubled) married couple, they begin to question exactly what happened that night and who they really are. Takes place after Rocky Horror with my own twist on the events of Shock Treatment.
1. Bitchin' in the Kitchen

**Disclaimer: I don't own Rocky Horror or Shock Treatment.**

"Brad, someone's moving into the house across the street!" An excited Janet Majors reported from her spot in the living room window. "I just knew someone would! It's such a gorgeous place... Oh, I wonder who it is!"

Brad rolled his eyes, never moving from his chair and barely taking a moment to glance away from his book. "That's great, honey." Just great. She was probably going to talk about this until she got so frustrated that she baked something as an excuse to go over and drag him along.

The house was a happy little yellow thing, smaller than the house they currently occupied, but apparently with a certain charm that appealed to his wife. Mr. Majors was convinced, after the sudden death of its most recent inhabitant, that it was a place for weirdos-and he did know a thing or two about weirdos. This town seemed to be a beacon for them.

"Ugh, Brad!" Janet scolded, standing up and fixing her dress. "You have no idea, do you?" His wife stalked off in the direction of the kitchen. Baking already. It was going to be one of _those_ days...

Janet grabbed her apron, which was the same shade and style as her mother's, and put it on without skipping a beat. Pots and pans clashed and clamored as she rushed around slamming cabinets closed in search of the perfect welcoming meal for the new owner of her dream house. Somewhere in that silly voice of his, she heard Brad say something about her 'obsession'. "I heard that, Bradley Majors! Do _not_ give me an excuse to use one of these pans on your head!"

He grew silent, and she went back to her original task. Cake? Cake was good.

_I am NOT obsessed_, Janet thought to herself as she pondered the whereabouts of her favorite pan. Her psychologist had suggested that she may get attached to certain things or places-possibly memories or even people due to the strange and traumatic events that had taken place on the day of she and Brad's engagement. So far she hadn't noticed herself doing any of that.

After that night, she'd distanced herself from it all. Dyed her hair brown and taken up smoking, then quit when she remembered what she'd seen Brad doing on that screen. Finally, with a damaged voice and a half-there heart, she'd fallen for the house across the street. Unobtainable, like that place and those horrifying people.

With the pan discovered and the soon to be cake in the oven, Janet plopped down into one of the smaller seats at the table-probably meant for the children she didn't plan on having anytime soon, and leand forward to put her face in her hands.

Meanwhile, Brad was looking out the window, his book discarded and glasses hanging halfway off of his hand. A confused expression was on his face, which was unusual for the intelligent and typically unbothered man. A woman was walking across the street, her blonde hair hanging down to her mid-back and a smooth smile on her face. "Janet?" He called in more of a shout than his normal tone.

There was a knock at the door a few moments later, startling Janet and leaving the ever heroic Brad Majors staring at the green door with a look that brought to mind hopelessness and shock if there had ever been such an expression. A "Hello?" Came from one side, muffled but still high pitched. From another room there was an "I've got it!" And footsteps.

The door opened, Janet looked perplexed like a deer caught in the headlights. Without a word coming out of her mouth, both people screamed in their mind.

"I'm... Laura Ansalong." The blonde said in a nasally voice, pausing for a moment before saying her name. "I moved in the house across the street. I saw you through the window," she gestured to Brad, "And I figured I should probably introduce myself!" She smiled politely at the couple, only faltering when the two exchanged a glance.

"Nice to meet you!" Janet stepped up to the woman, pushing back the growing horror in her mind while her husband stared ahead. "I'd invite you in, but it's a mess in here!" She hoped her new neighbor didn't notice the impeccable state her home was in.

Laura shook her head and waved her hand. "That's fine, darlin'! I need to get back over there anyway." She smiled politely. "But I do have a question."

_Please don't mention any castles or men wearing women's clothing, _Brad begged her in his mind. Janet just continued to smile, handling bad situations easily-as always. "Yes? I've lived in Denton all of my life, so I know everything about The Home of Happiness!"

"Do you know where Dentonvale is? I've got hired for a job there, but I have no idea where it is!" She chuckled, a high, nasally laugh that made the only man in the room uncomfortable.

Janet walked out of the door, closing it behind her as she went. Her voice could still be heard talking to the Ansalong woman as she went. Always finding a way to get into that house. His wife was crazy, that was for sure.

Brad was running a hand through his hair at the smell of something burning. "Dammit, Janet!" He sighed, heading towards the kitchen. "That smells like cake! Why do you do this to me?"

As he retrieved the blackened 'cake' from the oven, something occurred to him. "She looked like Columbia!"

The former dessert hit the ground as the man stood. This couldn't start over, they'd barely managed to make it work after the first incident!

**AN: Did you guys like it? I'm a sucker for reviews, so I'd love to hear what you think! Keep in mind this was written in a few hours and on my phone, so I guess they'll be some mistakes throughout this chapter? **


	2. Denton, USA

"And I just don't know what to do with myself around here! It's so... homey," Laura admitted, her heels clicking sharply against the pavement as she walked towards her new home.

Janet looked at the woman, partially jogging to keep up with her. "It's a great place. Dentonvale it's new, though. I remember when they used that part of the building as a theater. You wouldn't be able to tell by the looks of it now!"

The blonde nodded even though she'd never been there before. "So you work there?" She asked, never looking back.

"I'm a friend of the producer. Dr. Scott? And my friends Betty and Ralph Hapschatt are very prominent on the channel. Betty has her own special!" Janet rambled, only pausing to look at the open door of the little yellow house longingly. "I'm headed there right now, it'd be no trouble for me to drive you."

Miss Ansalong turned around, eyes shining. "Really?" She asked, her voice losing the nasally tone. When her married neighbor nodded, looking pleased with herself, she grinned. "That'd be great, Janet!"

Janet never realized that she hadn't mentioned her name, only Brad's with a, "I'm sorry about that, Brad is a little absent minded..." at the beginning of their conversation.

In the house across the road, Mr. Majors was looking through the window at the two women, wondering what they could possibly be talking about. It was impossible. Columbia was dead, and this woman had a different hair color and voice. So impossible, but stranger had happened in this town.

Everything that had happened that night, and the events after. Janet's pregnancy and a woman taking the baby. It wasn't his... it wasn't his—but he couldn't help but hold on to the pain. They made it work, and he hadn't gone insane. It was a miracle to say the least.

Janet was all the man had—his world. No former groupie could take that away from him.

A pink dress flashed before his eyes, and Brad realized Janet had come back in while he'd been thinking. "...so I'm just gonna grab the keys and drive her over. Maybe stay for Betty and Oliver's bit and Marriage Maze."

Brad nodded absentmindedly. "She's…"

"Nice? I like her too." Janet smiled, cutting him off. Her husband was surprised her words hadn't been about the woman's home rather than herself. "For a second, I almost thought… but no, Laura's great!" she continued to smile brightly, grabbing the keys.

_Mind control, like Frank? But Columbia was human, _he argued in his mind. "I suppose so. Mind if I join you?" He had to know more about this 'Laura Ansalong'. Make sure he and Janet weren't about to go through a slightly different repeat of the same horrid experience. Be sure that he was just a paranoid husband with a bad past…

"That's great!" Janet replied in a bright tone that the man hadn't heard in a while. She elbowed him a moment later and winked. "Who knows, Brad? Bert might just pick _us _for Marriage Maze."

Her deliriously happy voice made him wonder if that had been a joke or a jab at their marriage. He shrugged off the odd feelings arising in him, fixing his glasses firmly on his face and smoothing his hair. "Wouldn't that just be great," he commented, taking her slim hand and squeezing it once before taking the keys.

"Yes," his wife's smile faltered a bit. "I'll lock the door before I leave; I just need to change into my pantsuit. Feel free to go start the car, I shouldn't take long."

Mr. Majors nodded, already halfway out the door. As he moved to close it, he noticed the woman in a teal dress on their lawn, looking as if she might've been lost. Her neat appearance didn't quite fit in with the comfortable looking scenery around her. She smiled at him, and at once Brad thought, _did she really die that night? _

As if feeling his sudden panic, Ansalong took a step backwards. "Uh, hiya, Brad! Are you coming with Janet?" Thankfully, her voice was different. It was perhaps the man's only claim to sanity when it came right down to it. He gave a slight nod, moving to unlock the car door.

As If taking this as a sign that he was comfortable around her, she walked closer to the car. The Majors, even after the bad memories became associated with it, had kept the station wagon. They hadn't had a flat yet, either. He stiffened as she stepped got closer, practically throwing himself into the driver's side of their old vehicle.

After a moment of terribly awkward silence, Janet Majors made her reappearance, still looking like the goddess Brad had met in high school even in her strangely formal pink pantsuit. He had never been disappointed by her looks, even during her horrifying six month pregnancy with a child that wasn't his.

But the man didn't dare think of that right now—it was still hard for him, even nearly a year later. "We can work this out," he whispered his old mantra into the steering wheel.

_We can work this out, _he repeated in his mind as the two women crawled into the back giggling like little girls. He pushed his hand through his dark hair roughly, watching for a moment. Then without another thought, he backed the car out of their driveway and headed towards the place he would come to hate in the next few days.

The happy little town of Denton, Ohio was about to have another strange occurrence, and once again Brad and Janet were to find themselves straight in the middle of it.

**AN: A review? Lovely! Thanks so much—I plan on continuing this until the end, and I have _big _plans for the story. Kinda trying to get a feeling for writing Nurse Ansalong. I'm also not quite sure which version of Brad and Janet I'm going for. Obviously this Janet _looks _like Jessica Harper, but I have a feeling that her personality is much more of Sarandon's. And with Brad… it's tough to tell. I think he's more unique honestly xD. **

**Next chapter we get to meet some other characters (Go Bert!), so we'll see how this goes. Reviews are loved, once again, and I greatly appreciate opinions and suggestions. **

**Oh, and I don't own Rocky Horror, Shock Treatment, or any of the characters. **


	3. Chapter 3

Brad pulled by the opening to the building where his wife worked, frowning. The DTV station was a large place, but not one that particularly held all that many people. He was intrigued by the amount of cars in the spacious parking lot—the whole town must've been here! _Something is wrong, _he thought to himself.

"You girls go ahead," he said, not bothering to look to the backseat. "Show _Laura _to Dentonvale, then save me a seat, alright Janet?" the man hadn't meant to sound rude, but Janet was acting strange and he didn't like it. The words _mind control _flashed into his mind again and the dark haired man scowled into the mirror as the two women climbed out of their respective spots.

Laura was the first one out, her door closing with a small click. Janet stepped out, stood up, and then put her head back into the car. Her mop of dyed dark hair swooped sideways, and he suppressed the urge to smile. "Don't be long, you know how hard it is to save seats," she began. He did not, having never been interested in the affairs of DTV.

Just as he thought she was going to go, she added, "And don't think I missed that comment, Brad Majors. I don't know what's gotten into you!" she sighed, her eyes softening before she touched his shoulder and got out of the car again, her door slamming.

"Welcome back, Janet." He said inside the lonely car, driving off. There was scarcely a place to park, the first of which he found were handicap spaces, and then finally a place towards the end. He pulled in thoughtlessly, not bothering to lock the door. Upon getting out, he realized the station wagon was sideways. He shook his head, moving on.

It was empty of most people there, leaving Brad with an eerie feeling. In a moment he realized his fears were unfounded, and a greying haired man was getting a box out of his car. "Would you like some help with that?" he called from where he was standing, moving forward to meet the older man.

"That would be great," came a heavily accented reply.

"Dr. Scott?" the younger man asked, coming closer.

"Brad? What are you doing here?" the man was shocked, turning around quickly. The door of his car slammed into the truck it was parked beside. Both men winced.

"I," he paused to stare at his former teacher, the friend he hadn't seen in quite a while. Frank had fixed him somehow during that night, when they'd all been turned to stone. It was still strange to see him without the wheelchair. "I just came with Janet."

Dr. Scott handed him the box he'd been holding, nodding. "We haven't spoken since she asked for her job at DTV. I can't stand the memories anymore," he breathed, gesturing to the box. "I've sold the whole station to a fast food giant! I'm retiring; this is just too much for me."

"Fast food giant? Doesn't sound like a man with any experience in producing shows to me. Then again, most of the things on DTV aren't particularly enduring—no offense, Scotty!" Brad's mood was gradually growing more pleasant in the man's presence.

Dr. Scott shook his head. "None taken. Farley seems to know what he's getting himself into, in fact he seems particularly fond of _Dentonvale_. I shouldn't tell you, but he's hired a bunch of models to be nurses on there. God help anyone unlucky enough to end up on there!"

The dark haired man chuckled, his mind going back to Laura Ansalong. She did seem more like a model than a nurse. Perhaps that gave her more credibility? He _had _become a paranoid man. "Anything you'd like me to do with this?" he asked, lifting the box up.

"Take it in, it's just some DTV things I thought Mr. Flavors might need. Good luck, Brad," he said in his strange accent. "Just give it to Janet."

The two men said their goodbyes and promised they would stay in touch, although judging by what had happened that night a couple of years ago, it would probably not be true. Dr. Scott got into his car and Brad continued his walk towards the station, making good time.

When he walked into the door, he stepped back in shock. The place was full of people, but Janet was on the second row with a spot on the end saved for him. She waved as he passed the sign. Macy Struthers passed by, her blonde hair bouncing.

She stopped and gave him an exaggerated smile. "Hi, Brad! Oh, is that the box for Farley?" she looked at the cardboard box he was holding, moving to take it. Brad began to say, "Actually, I was supposed to give it to Ja—"

"Brad! Let me take that for you," Ralph took the box from his old friend, not bothering to wait for an explanation. Macy beamed at her boyfriend, obviously unbothered. "Have you seen Betty? I need to give her something."

Brad shook his head, walking off to sit by Janet. She looked as if she were about to scold him, so the dark haired man quickly said, "I was talking to Dr. Scott."

"Oh," she said, visibly becoming more comfortable. "That's fine. You missed the best parts, though! Mom and Daddy were in the beginning song! And Macy had an interesting commercial…" the dark haired woman continued on. Brad zoned out.

"And Laura? She got to Dentonvale?" He pried. Janet nodded.

Bert Schnick was coming out on stage at this time, waving and gesturing wildly. _Strange for a blind man_, Brad observed.

"Hoopla Denton!" he yelled. The rest of the audience, aside from Brad himself, replied with, "Hoopla, Bert!"

He remembered why he didn't like this show.

The blind man went on for a while, talking to Ralph and Macy. Finally he began his search for the next contestant on the show.

"You, you!" Bert pointed at some poor, unlucky couple.

From beside him, his wife perked up, saying, "That's us, Brad!"

**AN: An all Brad chapter, and not even a word from Laura. Oops… ** **More characters as promised! I really liked writing Dr. Scott, too bad that now he has no reason to be in this story anymore DX. And probably one of my favorite characters ****_ever_****, Bert Schnick! **

**I'd really like some more reviews, even if they only say 'I like the story'. It just gives me hope, okay? :) **


	4. In My Own Way

"Come on. What's cooking up there? Come on down you guys. Let's _feel_ you," the audience laughed at the blind joke—aside from the surprised couple, of course.

"I'm not going, Janet!" Brad insisted. This was mortifying…

Janet looked at him, baffled. Some men were coming towards them, and she whisper shouted, "You've got to! Everyone is watching." She fixed her hair behind her back and strode forward, trying to give her husband some time to gather himself. Otherwise this could be quite embarrassing.

Brad stood, following the woman reluctantly. _At least I can save _some _of my dignity if I'm not getting pulled out of my seat by some idiots,_ he thought, moving forward.

Janet made it up on stage first, smiling faintly. It had always been a secret dream of hers to be on one of the shows she helped produce, but she hadn't expected it today. Bert instructed the couple to introduce themselves, and they did, both stating their names at the exact same time. She blushed and Brad looked down as the audience laughed at their expense.

"I'm Janet Majors and this is my husband Brad," she said simply, trying to fix this. Thankfully Bert moved onto something else.

"Hey Brad, we've been hearing some bad things about you. Haven't we Janet?" Bert addressed Mr. Majors, causing the man to look sharply at his wife in panic. The woman in the pink pantsuit gulped, wondering where this had come from. "Haven't we, Janet?" he repeated.

"Uh, yes," she chuckled uncomfortably, feeling bad for her husband. "He needs help…"

It was then the blind man said the words that would stick with the couple long after this ordeal was over. "Help? Let's face it Janet, Brad's an emotional cripple!"

She frowned for a moment, her eyebrows going up. When Brad laughed her guard went down once again, her tense attitude going away. "I know, I know, it's jus—"

"It looks like rest home for this stupid old marriage, ay?" The woman's frown returned, not liking where this was going when the audience started cheering. Rest home? _Dentonvale?_ Why? He continued, saying "You watch Dentonvale?"

"Yes, but…" _No! _Her husband didn't belong in an insane asylum. But Laura was there… and it _was _just a show after all.

Bert Schnick continued to talk about the couple running the Dentonvale show, but Janet blocked it out. "He's boring sometimes," she said finally. "But neuro specialists are a little drastic in this situation." And Janet Major's word was final.

The host dismissed her words quickly, overriding her decision on her husband's life. She couldn't look at Brad just yet, this was _bad_.

The show of Marriage Maze went to break, leaving the headstrong woman drained. From beside her the man was fixing his glasses again, a nervous habit developed probably before she'd known him. "I'm not going, I don't need treatment," came a quiet remark.

"For the show, Brad? For me? I'll make sure nothing happens." She replied, watching Bert and knowing there was no other way.

In the Dentonvale rooms, Laura Ansalong was pacing excitedly. Nation McKinley had just told her that the first patient was due soon, although not soon enough in the blonde's mind. Ricky had already left a few minutes ago, shooting her a wink and telling her she'd do fine.

The other models were sitting around, looking bored and hungry. It occurred to Laura that she'd never actually seen a model that didn't look hungry, and that included herself. "You're lucky you know them," another model said to her, causing Ansalong to look over.

"The… McKinley's?" she paused, trying to make her voice sound more natural.

"Yeah," the dark haired woman said. "Them. Come back when you see the patient, okay? I want to know all about it. It'll probably be a while until we get to take care of someone."

Laura nodded, fixing her hair back into a ponytail. _This would be so much easier if I still had short hair_, she grumbled to herself in her mind. Without waiting to be called, she was off, eager to see the person she would be seeing exclusively along with Ricky. Probably some crazy person…

The man was already in a wheelchair, but she was surprised when Nation said, "Attend to Mr. Majors."

She frowned as she wheeled the unconscious man out, trying to be careful. When they were away from the two McKinley siblings, she turned to Janet. "Sign the contract tomorrow… I really wish you hadn't done this," she fretted. Janet was panicking at the moment too, but probably even less than Nurse Ansalong.

"Why?" the dark haired woman asked.

"Uh," Ansalong wheeled him into the room, looking at Ricky. "That way ya get the first day free!"

There wasn't a way she could tell her new friend _now_. It would be dangerous to Brad. Pulling at her dress, as it suddenly felt too revealing; she pushed Brad into the doors, shooting Janet a final saddened look. She would find a way to talk to her later.

The other woman wondered off hurriedly, never knowing that her parents had just given away Brad's secrets on air not long ago. By the time she discovered their home in the station, a perk she'd earned for them, her tears had nearly dried.

Nearly.

She slunk into the room, feeling more defeated than when she'd left Frank's castle, or given up his child to a strange Transylvanian.

"Don't worry," Nurse Ansalong smiled at Brad, moving to feed him some jello. He refused, turning his head.

"Laura… is there a reason I'm here?!" he asked frantically. He didn't trust the woman, especially now. The jello was probably drugged.

"No, darlin. You're gonna be just fine! Janet was here earlier, do you remember?" he did not. Who was to say it even happened?

She offered him some jello again, and he refused. It was indeed drugged, a fact she knew well enough. Laura shoved some in his mouth, leaving him to swallow. "Good Brad!" she perked up, her voice squeaking.

As the dark haired man began to lose consciousness, he said something. "How did you survive, Columbia?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," the blonde replied, tapping the spoon for the jello against the bowl. She grimaced as she locked the door to his cell, leaving him there. "I'm sorry…"

**AN: Ansalong-y, confusing, and longer than the last chapter. At least it had actual movie dialog, along with changed bits. Also cut out Bitchin' in the Kitchen and In My Own Way… sorry! More explanations and more differences from the movie in the next chapter. **

**Also, thanks for the reviews! The second I saw I had a second review I immediately started working on this. See, they do help! Thanks so much, I'm glad you like it and I hope you continue to like it as the story goes on. :)**


	5. Farley's Song

Janet was sitting at her parent's kitchen table, face in her hands. "I just don't understand. Why Brad?" she was asking to no one in particular.

Her mother sighed, not eager to hear more of her daughter's complaints. "I know, baby, I know. He's gonna get _all _the help he needs." She poured the sad mess in front of her a bit of coffee, feeling bad. Brad was such a great boy, and Janet was lucky to have him.

"Coffee?" came a voice from outside. The plain white door opened slowly, revealing Harry Weiss and also quite a nice breeze—summer in Denton was always to die for.

"Got it," Emily replied, moving to get the man's mug. She had his coffee ready for moments; black like her husband liked it. It occurred to her she'd just given their daughter her least favorite thing, but disliked beverages were the least of the Weiss family's problems at the moment. "Aren't you going to console her? She's just lost her husband," she whispered as she handed him the green cup.

"He's not _dead_!" Janet groaned, her hands never leaving her face.

Harry looked at both women, wondering what exactly he's gotten himself into. Couldn't a man come home from a hard day of work at DTV to a happy home? "Brad's a weirdo. She can do better," he said absentmindedly. "Shoulda stayed with that Slepstrini boy."

"Surely you've heard?" Emily smiled wickedly. "He was found in the back of Wilson's bakery with _fifteen _other men." Harry choked on his coffee while Janet suppressed the urge to giggle.

The younger woman nodded at her mother's statement, adding, "Mexicans."

Harry was out of the room in moments, coffee abandoned. _So much for tolerance of the ethnic races_, Mrs. Majors thought to herself.

Brad was lucid again, shaking like a person fit to be in an insane asylum. And he was, but without reason. He _would _be out of here soon. Hopefully, if Janet thought to get help.

Laura was back again, the jello bowl in one hand and a spoon in the other. "Not again," he moaned helplessly. The blonde woman was coming towards him, but she didn't seem happy about it.

"It's okay this time I think," she whispered with only a thin smile. "You'll be out soon. I just know it."

The man's hair was all over the place, his glasses hanging askew, and he did _not _look like Dentonvale life was treating him well. He moaned again, a hopeless little sound. Ricky popped into the room in a moment, his breath on her neck. The young model closed her eyes and waited for this to be over. "Jello, I—"

"Is he giving you trouble?" the man asked, holding out a needle towards Brad. Laura frantically shook her head. Ricky grunted a, "Okay, then," and was gone again.

Ansalong was fond of Ricky—dating him even, but she didn't appreciate how he was treating their patient, her friend's husband. Still the young male intern left her with a giddy feeling, like someone was really there for her.

The woman in the teal dress moved forward, pulling a small comb out of her bra and setting to work on the ragged man's hair. When it looked a little better, she fixed his glasses and gave him a pleased smile. "Dentonvale really isn't so bad, you'll see." Of course she hadn't the slightest considering she'd been there for less than a day, but it seemed okay.

Brad looked as if he were about to pass out, so the model tried to think up something interesting to talk about. "You called me Columbia earlier," she commented, thinking back. "What did you mean? Do I look like someone you knew?"

* * *

Ansalong's face was drawn as she came into the room, the food for the McKinleys' and Mr. Schnick in hand—she was rather talented at balancing.

Brad wasn't right, couldn't possibly be. The young model had clear memories of her childhood and teen years, but his questions had been jarring. _Can I tap dance? Yeah…_ _Do I remember what I was doing November two years ago? Actually, no._

She just wanted the thoughts to stop coming back, but it wasn't happening. Their whole conversation was floating around in her mind, and she dropped Nation's plate quickly on the table to turn away.

"Nurse Ansalong? Are you feeling well?" Nation's dark eyes turned towards the young blonde, her crisp accent causing the two men to stop conversation.

Laura blinked rapidly, nodding towards the wall. "Fine, just fine! Don't you worry about me, Janet's comin' right?" Her voice was as high as ever, and she put in a bit of effort to sound jovial.

"Yes, but it won't be a pleasant affair if you get sick on us. You _are _taking care of her husband, after all. Would you mind readying a few rooms for us? I expect you to stay in Dentonvale for the night; we'll need you in the morning,"

"I understand, it'll be no trouble at all!" Without facing the group or even questioning the need for more than one room for herself, she was out of the room. The model posing as a nurse began the easy work of turning Dentonvale's unused rooms into a decent place to stay for the night, while Janet wondered into the room she'd just been in.

The dark haired woman's face was very pale, but she had a bit of the new hope from earlier. "I wanna see Brad." She announced to the room, causing Bert to raise an eyebrow and the two siblings to look up from whatever paper they were reading.

"You can see him in the morning," Cosmo replied in an unemotional tone, looking to Nation. The man's sister smiled, adding, "You're going to be on _Good Morning, Denton!_ tomorrow thanks to Mr. Flavors. I suggest you stay the night."

"Night?" Bert asked. Janet didn't catch the blind reference, only wondering what was going on. _Good Morning, Denton! _wasn't made for sad women whose husbands were committed to an insane asylum that was quite possibly not a real place for treatment, but where new stars to DTV were introduced.

She took her hair down, taking a chair at the opposite end of the table and straightening the pink outfit her mother had made for her. "I'd really like to go home, though. I think I left a cake in the oven…"

"Nonsense! The marvelous Janet Majors doesn't worry about such remedial things," Nation replied with a grin, which was considerably catlike. At this moment, Ricky was wheeling in a TV and Bert moved to put a VHS tape in it.

Mrs. Majors looked questioningly at the screen as a man came up. Well groomed and quite attractive, he introduced himself as Farley Flavors—her new boss. She hadn't had the chance to meet him yet, and hadn't the slightest idea what he had to do with herself.

Farley burst into a catchy song, and for a while the married woman realized just what Neely had been talking about earlier when she'd suggested the man was handsome.

When it was over, he focused on what she could only assume to be the camera, but it seemed he was looking straight as her when he said, "Time is tight, Janet. Do it right, Janet. Until tomorrow night…" he smiled and Brad was momentarily forgotten. "Janet."

Running a hand through her dark locks, she sighed in a dreamy voice, "Farley Flavors is… fairly flattering."

And then like a random streak of lightning, a thought flew into her mind. _I can remember another man you liked more than Brad, and two that you cheated with. Where did that get us, Janet?_

She tried to push the thought away, but it was resilient. Her life was forever marked by that night, and she wasn't sure she could ever truly be _that_ Janet again. But maybe Farley could help, and maybe her newfound stardom could erase some of the hidden misery.

**AN: Another review? I'm dying of joy over here! Hoping you guys liked this chapter. Kinda stuck on Shock Treatment, desperately trying to remind myself that these characters are heavily tied in with Rocky Horror. I still think I'm writing them well for the most part. My Bert is off a little, though. **

**I'd adore some reviews on this chapter. :) Also, the next chapter might be a little slow, as my birthday is on Sunday and I'll probably be away from my laptop until then. I can still write on my phone, so I'll get to work on it. :D **


	6. Lullaby

"Here, I made sure this one was okay," Nurse Ansalong smiled at Brad, holding out yet another bowl of jello. Her voice wasn't as squeaky as usual, but the man barely registered this. "I'm gonna take this out of your mouth, just don't bite me, alright?"

Her skimpy outfit didn't leave much to the imagination as she bent over, but once again it barely registered in Brad's mind. It wasn't just drugged food, he was becoming delusional.

"It's inhumane, what they're doing to you, Brad," she frowned. The woman adjusted his glasses, and eventually pulled out a comb from her bra and got to work on his hair. "You've been saying some weird stuff..." she continued speaking as she worked. Brad offered no explanation.

Finally she pushed his wheelchair against the bars in his cell and looked him dead in the eyes, kneeling down to do so. "I don't know who Columbia is, but I'm very interested in her for some reason. From what you've said, she sure sounds a lot like me, but _I'm_ me. Did that make sense?" She chuckled awkwardly.

At this point it was deep in the night, and Laura knew that sleep would never come if this didn't stop being a one sided conversation. "Walksies, Brad?" The blonde squeaked cheerfully, pushing him out of the cell and down various hallways. When she finally stopped they were outside by a car—his car.

"Thank God you left it unlocked, ay?" Ansalong said as she settled into the driver's side. The man looked at her questioningly for a moment before he realized she was hotwiring his own vehicle in front of him!

Brad had to laugh at the irony. "Isn't it the blue wires?" He asked after a moment, coming back to himself. "Besides, I think I have the keys on me still. No one wants this thing, not even your creepy bosses."

After a quick removal of Mr. Majors' straightjacket, they found he did still have the keys in his pants pocket. Ansalong moved him into the passenger's side while she borrowed the keys and backed out of the parking space.

"So why modeling? You seem exceptionally smart for work like that." Brad, ever the exceptional conversation starter, asked.

She barely looked at him. Driving made Ansalong nervous, especially when it was so dark out. "It was great when it all began..." the model started. Her passenger tensed up and she threw him a quick glance. "Something wrong?"

"Just," he gulped, calming visibly. "Exact words... I hate remembering that night, if you hadn't guessed."

"Will you tell me more about Columbia?"

"What do you want to know?"

"Everything. Anything. All of it."

Ansalong wasn't sure why she wanted to know, but the need was so strong in her that she couldn't possibly ignore it. She didn't want to indulge her patient's fantasy, as Nation had suggested, but it bothered her so much she knew that there was no way he could've possibly made it up. Things fit. Except for the timing, which on her own life was quite blurry at points.

"She had short red hair, dyed I guess. Seemed to like sparkly outfits. So did Frank, for that matter. I don't even remember how much I've told you..."

"How strange!" Laura said, startled. "My hair used to be short," she took one hand off of the wheel to gesture to the length. Brad nodded. "I don't remember what color it was..."

"It's this legal?" The dark haired man asked. "Shouldn't Janet know you're driving me away from Dentonvale?"

Laura raised an eyebrow. "She didn't sign the contract! Besides, did you want to stay? You being miserable made _me_ miserable." This got a smile out of him. Perhaps she would've made a good nurse had she not kidnapped the patient after the first day of work.

The two settled into a nice silence, not as uncomfortable as would be expected. Ansalong continued to drive aimlessly, wondering who Columbia was while Brad looked out of the window vacantly. Eventually he began to give directions almost absent mindedly, as if he were being controlled by someone. She took them anyway.

As if getting signals that were halfway gone, she whispered something that was on her mind. "Romance is not a children's game, but you keep going back, it's driving you insane..." She sang quietly. "_You didn't know what they were planning_," she whispered, her voice so light it was hard to hear.

Brad looked at her for a moment, seeing a person that was not a nurse, model, or groupie, but a friend. Maybe more. He stared for a moment before coming back to his senses, but for some strange reason his wary ways from that morning were gone. Columbia or Laura or whoever she was wasn't the memory that was bad, but he didn't like not knowing how he felt about someone.

Doctor Scott's house came into sight, much to the surprise of both of them.

* * *

That morning everyone at Dentonvale was surprisingly calm. Janet didn't know of her husband's disappearance yet, and probably wouldn't for a long while if the McKinley siblings could keep everything on the down low as they'd planned. "Janet?" Bert called. Hearing this, Janet rushed to the shower.

She was not excited.

Nurse Ansalong had showed her to her room the night before, just as Columbia had only a few years before, but instead of Frank coming into her room later she'd had only unwelcome thoughts. Her marriage was in shambles, and she'd unfairly sent her husband to an insane asylum to save face. The worst thing in her mind was the fact that she was considering sleeping with Farley.

With Brad recently unemployed (and not a particularly exciting lover) she knew a promotion would help them out greatly. She would trade homes with Ansalong, and keep her affair a secret.

It all sounded so perfect, but Mrs. Majors hadn't accounted for the fact that nothing in her life ever went as planned.

**AN: This is the best I've felt about a chapter in _any _of my stories for a while, but that just makes me more nervous on seeing how people respond to it. It just sort of came to me last night and I typed it up on my phone immediately. Please review and tell me exactly what you thought! :) **


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